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- JOHN C. SMITH; or sneeuwval, Naw man.

i almas-Balma Swefkaen 0f Letters Patent Nel To all whom t may concern yBe it known that I, JorIN SMITH, of the town f Brookhaven, in the county` of Suffolk and State of New York, haveinvented anew and useful Improvement in the Construction of Bridles for Horses, which is described as follows, reference being had to the annexed drawings of the same, making part of this specification.

Figure l is a view of the improved bridle as applied to a gig horse; Fig. 2, section showing the oval brace and strap for sustaining the ear in a forward position; Fig. 3, section of one of the ear supporters, brace and part of a blind.

Similar letters refer to corresponding parts.

The bridle generally is made like the bridle for which I obtained Letters Patent on the twenty-third day of March, 1842, or like other bridles in use, such as the headstall A, bit B, reins C, martingale.

The improvement consists in a peculiar construction of the blinders for preventing the horse seeing the driver, or rider, or ob jects behind him, and in constructing the bridle with an apparatus near the top of the headstall for sustaining the ears of the horse in a position inclining forward, or erect, or in any required position.

My improved blinders E are made longer and narrower than those of the ordinary description and are crimped or hammered so as to be made to stand out obliquely from the cheeks of the horse, behind his eyes, to prevent the blinders from rubbing against his eyes or eye lashes or obstructing a free circulation of air around them and to enable the horse to see obliquely to the right and left as well as directly in front and at the same time prevent him from seeing back, or objects behind him. The aforesaid blinders are attached to the checks Aglof the headstall in the following manner, extending from the ring N above the bit upward to the front piece A. The pieces of leather forming the cheeks of the headstall are 'doubled over forming two folds between which the blinderaare placed being sewed therein by a single row of stitches which makes less work and a neater finish than the ordinary way of stitching-also enabling me to dispense with the ordinary buckles of the headstall abovethe blinds-the necessary letting out and taking in being effected by the buckles below the blinders-the taking arjen, dated spnmbgr 17.184,2.

`up or letting` out effected by the aforesaid .c upper buckles being rendered unnecessary by the before described increased lengt-h of the blinder'sf 'lf-he blinders may also be made narrower than usual by making the nose strap A4' shorter than common `and thus bringing` the cheek straps A2 to which the blinders are attached forward and closer to the eyes than in the common bridle.

The upper ends of the blinders are sewed or otherwise secured, to the front piece A3L of the headstall by which they are braced and held firmly in its flaring or oblique position against the cheeks. The blinds may be further braced by means of curved braces Gr of thick wire or other suitable material attached to the blinders near their upper ends*said braces being extended upward.

between the ears of the horse to the top of the headstall where they are secured at A, or the said braces G may be attached to the front piece A or to any convenient part of the headstall.

The apparatus for sustaining the ears of the horse in a forward inclining position is made in the following manner Two semioval wire or other elastic braces H, Figs.2 and 3, are fastened to the upper part of the headstall one on the right and the other on the left of the apex of the headstall for the purpose of pressing the ears gently forward in an easy inclining position. The spaces within these braces may be covered with wire gauze, cloth, leather, or other pliable substance, shaped to correspond with the form and size of the back part of the horses' ears. The wire braces however will answer very well without any covering. In order to confine the ears of the horse in the cavities of the semioval braces I make use of small straps, cords, or wires I attached to the curved braces Gr first mentioned by loops or otherwise and passed around the concave semioval braces and the ears of the horse placed thereinthus confining his ears in the concavities of the aforesaid semioval braces. The aforesaid semioval concave brace, rest, or support for the ears of the horse may be further braced by a central brace attached to the top of the headstall and bearing upon the convex surface of the semioval brace. These semioval concave braces or ear supporters perform a very important office in giving the horse a lively and animated appearance by throwing his ears forward at the required angle to produce the desired effect and sustaining them in thatl position Without producing pain or inconvenience to the animal. The reins may also be attached to a strap K passing from the chest of the horse to the top of his Withers by means of a sliding buckle L which can be raised or lowered on said strap as may be required by the carriage of the animal. Vhen the reins are fastened near the Withers the strap K should be secured to the collar or to the saddle.

What I claim as my invention and Which I desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The manner of constructing and arranging thevblinders in combination With the curved braces attached to the top of the headstall and the use of the curved braces Gr as applied to other descriptions of blinds.

2. I likewise claim the apparatus for sustaining the ears of the horse at any required angle Whether constructed as described or in any other mode substantially the same in combination With the headstall and curved braces att-ached to the blinders as described.

3. I also claim the manner of adjusting the ends of the reins to correspond With the carriage of the horse by means of strap K and buckle L as described.

JOHN C. SMITH.

Witnesses:

WM. P. ELLIOT, EDMOND MAHER. 

